NEWS  

The resolution was unanimously passed by 11 out of the 13 members of the provincial board headed by Vice Governor Samuel Nantes last November 27.

 

During a meeting, Suarez assured the members of Save Sierra Madre Network, an organization that resists the construction of Kaliwa Dam, that he will oppose the construction of the dam as the SP believed that it would cause harm to the people and the environment. 

 

“I’m with you, I don’t like Kaliwa dam either,” Suarez said. 

 

Suarez stated that he is willing to take matters to the court if the construction of Kaliwa Dam is continued. 

 

Suarez also questioned the national government’s move to loan a P10.4 billion from the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIMBANK) to fund the dam, stating that local private companies can do the job. 

 

“Why are we going to borrow money and let the government ultimately pay the lender, when there are private sectors who can do the job without harming the [environment]?” Suarez stated.

The resolution followed the recent onslaught of typhoon Ulysses that affected the Real, Infanta, and General Nakar towns (REINA) area. 

 

Residents of REINA and groups of indigenous peoples, Dumagats and Remontados, have expressed their opposition to the dam’s construction as they recall the flood and landslides caused by Typhoon Winnie that killed more than a thousand people in November 2004.

 

Meanwhile, during the Laging Handa Public Briefing, DENR Undersecretary Jones Leones remained firm that the construction of Kaliwa Dam will push through ensuring that the project will undergo a rigorous review. 

 

“Sa aming pananaw, ito ay dumadaan sa masusing pagre-review. Sa mga dapat nila i-comply, hangga’t maari, wala po talagang masisirang mga puno at dapat maigi ang konsultasyon na ginagawa,” Leones said. 

 

Over 280,000 individuals signed the petition to oppose the Kaliwa Dam project citing environmental concerns and on the grounds that the project will violate the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997 and National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992.

 

Moreover, studies conducted by Advocates of Science and Technology for the People and Haribon Foundation showed that about 12,000 hectares of forest ecosystems in Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges will be submerged in water should the Kaliwa Dam project continue. 

 

Kaliwa Dam, a P12-billion joint venture project of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and China Energy Engineering Corporation located at Infanta, Quezon, is said to provide 600 million liters of water to Metro Manila. #